OSCE welcomes agreement on principles of formal talks

The OSCE Chairmanship welcomed the agreement on the principles and procedures for the conduct of the formal Transnistrian conflict settlement negotiations in the 5+2 format as well as the agenda for the process. The agreement was reached during the third round of the official talks that took place in Vienna on April 17 and 18, Info-Prim Neo reports, quoting a press release from the OSCE. Ambassador Erwan Fouéré, the Special Representative of the Chairperson-in-Office for the Transnistrian settlement process, commended the sides for showing the needed political will and positive spirit to reach a consensus on these very important issues. “I urge the participants to build on the results achieved here to make further progress towards a comprehensive political settlement,” said Fouéré, who chaired the meeting. The 5+2 format includes representatives of the sides, mediators and observers in the negotiation process – Moldova, Transdniestria, the OSCE, the Russian Federation, Ukraine, the US and the EU. Official negotiations were resumed in November 2011 following a hiatus of almost six years.